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 It was a night for stars to shine. But while most awards ceremonies celebrate the grand achievements and winning performances of the stars, this one recognized another type of accomplishment. This one was to honor a member of the Spring-Ford community for “service above self.”
At the annual changeover dinner held this summer, the Spring-Ford Rotary Club installed its new president and officers. The highlight of the evening, however, was the presentation of the Citizen of the Year award. The 2008 honoree was John Salamone, a teacher at Spring-Ford High School.
Salamone began his teaching career in Spring-Ford in 1969. “He never left,” quipped former Spring-Ford High School principal Mike Fabel in a letter read by current principal Pat Nugent at the ceremony. Nugent is also the 2008-09 president of the Spring-Ford Rotary Club.
“I truthfully think one of the best decisions of my life was coming to Royersford,” Salamone remarked. “I was only going to stay a year!”
“John taught, counseled and encouraged thousands of Spring-Ford High School students,” Fabel wrote. “John’s classes were always lively, spirited and full of debate and laughter, and young students flocked to get into his social studies classes.”
Salamone has been very active in the school community, not just the classroom. He coached wrestling and Lady Rams tennis, besides assisting with other sports as needed.
He has served as Student Council adviser and was a member of many school and district committees throughout the years. He actively organized and ran the summer school program for several years, helping students who needed to catch up on academic work. He is the chairman of the social studies department.
In addition to teaching and guiding students through their high school years, Salamone has also been a mentor for young teachers. He has been involved in the “evaluation, screening, interviewing and hiring of new young professional teachers,” Fabel wrote. “He worked hard to help new teachers in their formative years as a trusted mentor and role model.”
Salamone also worked with “a number of student teachers through the years, some of whom were former Spring-Ford students, and guided them to become fine new teachers,” Fabel reflected.
The longtime teacher’s involvement isn’t confined to the schoolroom, however, but extends to the community. In the 1970s, he was elected mayor of Royersford. While mayor, he was president of the Montgomery County Mayors Association, and in the late 1970s he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from the 5th Congressional District.
Salamone’s dedication to the Spring-Ford community can be seen in a decision he had to make early in his career. Upon graduation from Lock Haven State Teachers’ College (now Lock Haven University) with a bachelor of science in social studies, he applied to the FBI and to Spring-Ford.
He received the job at Spring-Ford, had taught for several years and had been elected mayor of Royersford when the FBI requested that he report to Quantico, VA for training. “He declined because he felt he was established in the school, the community and had made a commitment to the borough,” wrote his wife, Marybeth.
“He truly believed in and felt strongly that the Spring-Ford community was his home and he strived to make it better,” Fabel commented.
In accepting the award, Salamone said that one of the best decisions a teacher can make is to live in the community. He also said that a lot of things in this community have never changed. He reflected that there are “a lot of good people” in the Spring-Ford community, including teachers and parents.
Nugent described Salamone as “a team player. He’s a go-to guy.” He said Salamone exhibits an attitude of “doing what’s best for the team.”
“My reward in life is having guys like this as students,” he remarked, indicating Nugent and reflecting on the current principal’s years as a student and wrestler at Spring-Ford High School.
“You know when you get up in the morning you’re going to make a difference,” Salamone said. “The key is to make a good difference.”
In addition to the Citizen of the Year award, the Rotary Club presented Salamone with a Paul Harris Fellow, recognizing that the club donated $1000 to The Rotary Foundation in Salamone’s honor.
A Paul Harris Fellow was also presented posthumously to Dr. Frank Husted by Rotarian Lew Deery. Deery described Husted, a psychologist, as his friend for over 25 years. “He had a tremendous amount of understanding … compassion,” Deery remarked. The award was accepted by Husted’s widow, Elaine.
The dinner also included the installation of the Spring-Ford Rotary Club’s officers for the 2008-09 year and a look at the year ahead by President Nugent.
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